From the Bloomberg Interacted Berger Studios. This is Bloomberg day Break for Wednesday, April fifth. Coming up today, Donald Trump pleads not guilty to thirty four felonies and fires back. In a primetime speech, a top Fed official makes the case for rates above five percent for longer and ubs addresses challenges and the timeline for integrating with credit Sueee. Wisconsin voters delivered a shake up to the state Supreme Court. Blush.
Ukraine's president speaks to US governors on the Russian invasion. I'm Michael barn Or Ahead, I'm John stashtawon sports on the long night for the Mets in Milwaukee. The Yankees lost to the Phillies, the Nets lost, the Devils won. That's all straight Ahead on Bloomberg day Break, the business news you need disturn your day, and just one fifteen minute podcast each pointing on Apples, Spotify, the Bloomberg Business Appen everywhere you get your podcasts. Good morning, I'm Nathan
Hager and I'm Karon Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today. We begin this morning with the latest developments on the arraignment of former President Donald Trump. Bloomberg's John Tucker begins our team coverage this morning in New York. Good morning, John Nathan. Donald Trump became the first former president to be criminally charged after leaving the White House after being fingerprinted. Trump sat at the defense table with his hands clashed in front of him, and spoke briefly
several times, including when he loudly proclaimed not guilty. He faces thirty four felony accounts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment made in the final days of the twenty sixteen election. The charges brought against Trump by Manhattan da Alvin Bragg. This case today is one with allegations, like so many of our white collar cases, allegations as someone live again and again to protect their interests and evade the laws to which we are all
held accountable. The thirty four accounts are usually misdemeanors under New York law, but Bragg charged them as class E felonies because he says they were committed to violate state and federal election law. State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchant told Trump he's expected to appear in court and if a dozen a trial could proceed without him. Live in New York. I'm John Tucker Bloomberg Daybreak. All right, John, thanks, So the former president is firing back against the charges.
Trump is denouncing the indictment as politically motivated. Let me get the details Live at the Bloomberg Steve Rappaport, Steve, good morning, Good morning, Karen and Nathan. After a subdued appearance in court, the former president was back in his element last night. They can't beat us at the ballot box, so they try and beat us through the law. Trump telling supporters at Maralago the case about against him was never about justice. This is a persecution, not an investigation.
Trump also slammed prosecutor Alvin Bragg as a local failed district attorney, and said Bragg is the real criminal for leaking grand jury information. Live in New York, I'm Steve Rappaportoomberg Daybreak. Okay, Steve, thanks well. The case against Trump could pose a challenge for Manhattan's district attorney. That's according to former prosecutor and judge Joshua Castenberg, who's now a
professor at the University of New Mexico Law School. He says hush money payments are not typically a crime if you're running for office. It's not necessarily a crime either. But if you're using campaign money or you're filtering campaign money to pay off someone and you're trying to show that it's a legitimate campaign expense, there is no legitimate campaign expense related to money, and so therefore it's a crime. University of New Mexico law professor Joshua Castenburg spoke with
our Carol Mass and Madison Mills on Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Catch the show weekdays at three pm Eastern on Bloomberg Radio, or stream it live on Bloomberg Originals and YouTube. Well politics are also front and center in Chicago this morning, Nathan Voters in the Windy City have elected Brandon Johnson as their next mayor. Johnson is a progressive who wants to raise taxes on major corporations to boost the city's revenue.
Today the dream is alive, and so today we celebrate the revival and the resurrection of the City of Chicago and Brandon Johnson beat Cook County Commissioner Paul Vallis in a runoff, and Johnson claimed fifty one point four percent of the vote to win the race. Turning to the markets this morning, Karen Overnight Trading has focused on hawkish comments from New Zealand and Australia's central banks, while back here in the US we're also getting hawkish central bank
retoric from Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester. She says interest rates should rise above five percent this year and stay there for some time. I plan to remain diligent in setting monetary policy, to return the economy to price stability in a timely way, and to be judicious in balancing the risks so as to minimize the pain of that journey. Cleveland FED President Loretta Mester says the central banks peak rate will depend on how fast in fleation eas is
well in Europe. Today, Nathan Swiss banking remains in focus. Credit Suis held its final shareholder meeting yesterday and today UBS is holding its annual gathering. Bloomberg's Metis Cranny is there and brings us details from the event. It's a very different tone to what you heard from Kredit suisis. That was a language of contrition, a language of regret and a deep explanation. Today, I think caliher the chairman x Morganstani, is going to be all about setting a
tone for the Swiss nation. We are a bank for you. Is about convincing this nation that this is the right and only dal because it is the only deal in time. And Bloomberg's metis cranny. Reporting from Baso, where UBS chairman Colm Kelleher says the integration of Credit Suisse will likely take three to four years. Banks around the world remain in focus, Karen, And it turns out the biggest short in the banking industry comes in the relatively tame financial
center of Canada. Short sellers have up to their bearish bets against Toronto Dominion Bank. They now have roughly three point seven billion dollars on the line. Analyst point to worries about TD's exposure to Canada's housing slowdown and the banks steak in Charles Schwab TD shares, they're down about twelve percent over the past two months. It's fifty two degrees in New York. Cloudy this morning, some fog over
Long Island. Chance for a shower today on our wayniers sixty degrees, more showers tonight, Early lows in the low fifties. Time now to look at some of the other stories making news in New York and around the world. With Bloomberg's Michael Barr, Good morning, Michael, Good morning, Nathan. Wisconsin voters delivered a shake up to the state Supreme Court. Liberal judge Jennet Proto Saywitz defeated Republican Daniel Kelly fifty
five point five percent forty five point five. Her win will rebalance the court that had leaned conservative Proto Sawitz's election comes as the court may face decisions on access to abortion, legislative maps, and more. Speaking to supporters at her Milwaukee headquarters, pro To Saywitz said the state wanted change in its highest court. They were ready to put aside the partisanship and put aside the extremism, and to have an impartial court in a court that makes decisions
based on the law, not on a political agenda. Kelly spoke to supporters after his defeat, accusing his opponent of running a dirty campaign. We've had this laid out plainly for us. We could have the rule of law or the rule of Janet, and the people of Wisconsin have
chosen the rule of Janets. Kelly went on to say he did not have a worthy opponent to concede to Ukrainian President of Voladimir's Lenski addressed a group of US governors in a video call from kievs stressing the amount of work it will take to help Ukraine recover from Russia's invasion. Lensky said he believed the US would stand with Ukraine and help with reconstruction. He also invited governors
who haven't yet visited his country. I invite you who have not yet been to Ukraine to visit our country and to see that protecting our home, our people, is protecting our common dream about freedom and dignity for every human being, President Zalinski. Finally, they picked a hectic time to get married. Happy couples in Manhattan who made plans to tie the not yesterday'd likely had no idea what
else would be happening. Very close brides and grooms in downtown Manhattan who headed to the courthouse were there at the same time as the arrangement of former President Trump. Outside the courthouse, Jericha Gara was in a white wedding
gown with two friends. Harley didn't know that on my wedding date that Trump was actually going to be here until last week, and I'm like, also, I'm going to have a crop for myself down Dad o her courthouse step wedding video will be full of police and demonstrators. Global News twenty four hours a day, powered by more than twenty seven hundred jouralists, analysts, and over one hundred
twenty countries. I'm Michael Barr. This is Bloomberg. Say you what you never forget your anniversary at that though, Thank you, Michael. Time for the Bloomberg Sports update of Morney Johns Sesshawer. Gad morning the eighthand a little improvement for the Mats. They lost Monday in Milwaukee ten to nothing, and last night it was nine to nothing. And that's what Max Scherzer starting. He gave up three home runs in a row,
only the second time that's happened in Scherzer's career. It came sixth inning and and inning later the Brewers Brian Anderson and Garrett Mitchell, who had both homberdof Scherzer, went back to back against Met reliever Brooks Raley. Meanwhile, the Mets haven't scored in the last twenty innings day game. Today there's also one at the stadium that'll be Garrett cole versus Aaron Noel. Last night, Phillies got their first one of the season four to one. Yanks had only
four hits, one was a dj Lemayhew homer. They got the time run to the plate in the bottom of the night, but Josh Donaldson popped up at Barkley's Nets lost to Minnesota one oh seven one h two, and when Miami won its game, they heat moved only a game behind Brooklyn in the race to finish sixth. Avoid the play and the Sixers beat the Celtics, Joel m Being scored fifty two. Explay tonight at Indiana Rangers host Tampa Bay. The Devils in Newark got a hat trick
from Dawson Mercer, first of his career. They beat Pittsburgh five to one. Carolina also won, so the Hurricane still three points ahead in the division. The Master's Tea's off tomorrow and Rory McElroy says that for one weekend anyway, there's peace and harmony between the PGA guys and the ones that broke away to join the Live tour. This week in this tournament is way bigger than any of that, I feel, and it's just create that all the best players in the world are together again for the first
time and what seems to be quite a while. Doddie Scheffler, the defendee champ Tiger Woods. He's off tomorrow morning, twenty six years after his first master's victory. John Stashatward Bloomberg Sports live from coast to coast, from New York to San Francisco, Boston to Washington, d C. Nationwide on Sirius Xam, the Bloomberg Business app and Bloomberg dot Com. This is
Bloomberg Daybreak. Good morning. I'm Nathan Hagar. Donald Trump is now the first former US president to formally face criminal charges, and he is now using the thirty four count felony indictment of falsifying business records to re energize at twenty twenty four bid to return to the White House. Former President addressed his supporters at Marlago after entering his not guilty plea. The only crime that I've committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it.
That was former President Donald Trump at marl Lago last night following his appearance in Manhattan Court. And for more. We are pleased to be joined once again this morning for a roundtable discussion with Terry Haynes, the founder of Pangaea Policy and Greg Valier, chief US policy strategist at AGF Investments. Gentlemen, it is great to get your time once again this morning. Greg, I will start with you your reaction to the criminal case against the former president
and its potential impact on this twenty twenty four race. Well, good morning, Nathan. I think, first and foremost, as we all suspected, it's a weak case. I recommend the lead editorial this morning in the Wall Street Journal. It talks about how just how weak the case is. The other big takeaway has to be Trump's surge in the polls of Republicans. I don't think he's going to do very well in the general election, but among Republicans he's made
a lot of progress. Terry, you've talked before about how you've considered this case weak as well, even before we got the charges unsealed. Now that we have seen them and gotten the indictment and the statement of facts from da Alvin Bragg, is that still your contention that this case is weak? Very much so, Nathan, and good morning. My im mediate reaction when I read the indictment and the attached statement of fact was that it's really politicized
spaghetti sort of spaghetti justice. Really, you throw a bunch of stuff up on the wall, and you see what sticks. You throw thirty four charges up, hoping to get at least one for either a conviction or some sort of plea, which I have very much doubt that mister Bragg gets. You know it is it's it's a little crazy to go after a case like this, not only that it makes the other potential prosecutions on the more important issues on the documents and on January sixth, that much more difficult.
I was pleased to see that the Bloomberg editorial page agree with my contention there too. The reason for that is there will now be a higher standard in those prosecutions so that they're not also vulnerable to criticism of politicized prosecutions. They're going to have to really have an overwhelming evidentury layout in order to beat back the charges that anything in those two areas is politicized. We did, of course, here from the District Attorney in Manhattan, Alvin Bragg.
He was addressing some of the questions about whether he would have brought this case if it were anyone other than former President Donald Trump. That's something that the former president's lawyers have been arguing as well. Here's what Alvin Bragg had to say an answer to that, thirty four false statements made to cover up other crimes. These are felony crimes in New York State, no matter who you are.
Greg Valieri's making the case that the former president falsified these business records to boost his twenty sixteen campaign in an illegal matter. What about that, Well, he may have and I think Bragg may have a good case if he is seeking some kind of punishment for misdemeanors when it comes to felonies, though I just don't see it. I don't see the case being made by Brag on
that front. Again, The Law Street Journalist Morning has a good piece on this, and I think that, yeah, a lot of what Trump did is it was illegal, but it didn't rise to the standard of a felony. And it's a case as well that's led to jail time for the former president's one time lawyer, Michael Cohen Terry Haynes. As for that, what's the possibility that we could see this case move forward a judge to bring it to trial and potentially put the president in some legal jeopardy
here heading very close to next year's November election. Well, that's entirely possible. Sure, you know, there's everyone notes there won't even be another hearing in this matter until the December of this year. So whatever else you've got unless the judge outright dismisses the charges, and you know there's more than a trailer risk of that. You know, that's not inconceivable at all. Uh, you know this thing will end up going to trial sometime during the primary season.
You know that. Frankly, it helps I think helps make my contention that Trump fatigue and the increasing Republican desire, Republican voter desire to want to have a candidate that pushes Trump policies but doesn't have Trump baggage. Uh, you know, probably intensifies to some degree. Is that how this play? Yeah, sure, go right ahead. Yeah, let me just make this point. I think that there is a wildcard, and that wildcard is that Trump says something really outrageous, which he's been
known to do. It could wind up getting him in trouble with the judge. It could wind up with him getting slapped with some kind of censure. I don't I don't rule that out at all. That's the wild card. Of course, we all know about the three upcoming cases that probably will lead to indictments. But I think Trump's own lawyers are advising him right now to keep your rhetoric cool, don't overdo it rhetorically because that could get
us in more trouble. Well, I got to ask you, Greg, did that wildcard get opened up last night with the speech that a former president Trump gave. He really did go after the DA Alvin Bragg. He's called the judge in this case a Trump hater. Yeah, any Trump has gone after their families, and I mean it's typical Trump overreach. That's Donald Trump's style. But he's been admonished by the judge to cease on that, and it's going to be difficult to discipline him. Yeah, to say the very least.
I'm sure we're speaking with Greg valier Or, chief US policy strategist at AGF Investments and Terry Haynes, the founder of Pangaea Policy. I got to get your take as well, Terry, on what we heard last night from the former president vigorously going after the judge and the DA and defending not just himself saying the only crime he's committed is fearlessly defending the nation from those who try to destroy it. The kind of language we've heard from the president in
the past. Did that language go too far or is he raining it in? I think I don't think he rained it in necessarily. But you know, what he's doing is making the direct what I think of as the context case to supporters and other potentials and those who might potentially support him, you know, in the broader Trump context.
And this overlaps to some extent with what the Republicans think generally, particularly those who are Tump supporters, is you know, you've got a politicized prosecution in New York City, which is, to them the supposed source of mean, much of the country problem, much of the country's problems makes the case for Trump as well as other Republican candidates. But the context is for them is look bigger national scandals go unpunished.
You know, where's the where's the payback for you know, Trump, Russia, US law enforcement media scandals. Uh, you know, the crazy way that we had to deal with the three years of COVID, Where's the where's the payback? On Biden family issues? On inflation on out of control fiscal spending. The you know, the that context to Republican voters, uh makes the makes
the Trump indictment in this context look particularly laughable. It's like, Okay, you're going to go after that guy, you know, in some cases our guy, uh for this for relatively small things, things that most presidential candidates end up doing. This idea that uh, presidential candidates uh cover up less than flattery information you know, didn't start with Trump, of course, but you know, all this bigger stuff we're just going to
sweep under the rug. That energizes Republican voters. It sounds like it energizes as well a lot of what's happening already on Capitol Hill with the House Republicans opening up investigations into the weaponization of government and putting in all these oversight hearings as well. Greg what's the congressional response to what's happening with the former president? I'd make two points quickly. Number One, I think Mitch McConnell has not been happy by what's happened in the last week or so.
It's deflected attention away from some very serious issues where the Republicans should do well. Second point I'd make is that obscured last night was a vote in Wisconsin that for the Supreme Court in the state. The left wing candidate one she made her campaign largely about abortion. So while Trump made be a great irritant to a lot of Democrats, abortion I think will continue to be a big election issue, and it's an issue that energizes Democratic
voters as well. But in the meantime, of course, when it comes to the former president and the legal issues that he's facing, Democrats have, i think it's safe to say, sort of sat on their hands about this. How do you see Democrats Terry continuing to play this as this case moves forward against the former president and as he continues to face some of these other investigations that you said earlier face a higher bar for being seen as above board. Well, I think the White House won't say
much about it, nor should they. They ought to be very much where they are, which is, you know, letting the legal process play out. It doesn't be who have the president to get involved in a state court case against the former president or pretty much anybody else. You know, Democrats will professional democrats, national democrats, a lot of Democratic
voters will feel vindicated. They'll feel like, you know, the the uh, their nemesis has been gotten here to some extent and you know, as being wrapped up, uh you know, Gulliver style uh uh in the end. Uh you know,
I think, uh that's a problematic for them though. Uh. You know, they they've now just given the New York have given Republican voters on the other side a lot of new energy across the board, as I say earlier, and that's going to even out to some extent the uh, you know, the victories of Supreme Court justices and in
Wisconsin and progressives in Chicago and all the rest. Uh. You know, by comparison, you know, you've got a situation in the state legislatures where there is a where you've got a trifecta where you've got the governors in the state legislature all aligned Republicans do that in twenty two states, the Democrats seventeen. Uh. So, you know, either of those of the juries, by comparison, is not particularly large in the kind of the national mosaic compared to what's going
on right now with Trump. Now, you've certainly seen the former president energized by this and his most fervent supporters are behind him as well. But Greg, do you see that energy continuing to build if this case continues to drag on through the legal system, and what could that mean for some of the former president's potential primary rivals. That's a good point, Nathan. I think there's a real
risk that the whole country will get Trump fatigue. I got it already, and I think a lot of people in our business, and we were all involved in the investment world. I think that for my clients, this story is not even on the top ten on the radar screen. There were so many other big issues. Jenny Yellen this week is going to talk about how we'll spend eighty billion dollars on the irs, that we still have the death ceiling to deal with him has been no progress.
So there are big Washington issues, But I think, especially for the markets, we all may get a little fatigued on Donald Trump. Does that fatigue play into what you're hearing from your clients as well, Terry, Is that a concern for people you're talking to that some of the bigger issues that need to get done in Washington could get the oxygen sucked away? Well, you know, people are people are cynical to begin with about Washington, and Washington
continues to give them good reasons to be so. Uh So there is some of that, and uh, you know, more Breton circuses only help to make that case. But yea, beyond the Trump show, you've got you've got an awful lot of you know, potential economic peril, whether it be the kind of the inflation problems and U and fiscal problems that we now have with the looming uh A looming debt ceiling fight, which I still think non consensus
is about percent likely to result in a default. And as well, you've got kind of building foreign crises, you know, whether it be in China with China, Russia run North Korea and the like. Uh, you know that all continues to build as well. So you know, this is a moment of increased geopolitical risk, and clients want to talk an awful lot about that. Uh excuse me. But for the Republicans, they they're really interested. The clients are really
interested in where we are on the race. And you know, I still think that this is Trump's high water market at Stables Slope. Prepare, this is Bloomberg Daybreak today, your morning brief on the stories making news from Wall Street to Washington and beyond. Look for us on your podcast feed at six am Eastern each morning, on Apple, Spotify, and anywhere else you get your podcasts. You can also listen live each morning starting at five am Wall Street Time.
I'm on Bloomberg eleven three zero in New York, Bloomberg ninety nine one in Washington, Bloomberg one oh six one in Boston, and Bloomberg nine to sixty in San Francisco. Our flagship New York station is also available on your Amazon Alexa devices. Just say Alexa Play Bloomberg eleven thirty bloss Listen coast to coast on the Bloomberg Business app, Serius XM Channel one nineteen, the iHeartRadio app, and on Bloomberg dot Com. I'm Nathan Hager and I'm Karen Moscow.
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